Here is Modi government's next big plan to make India a cash-mukt Bharat

Indian govt may launch a big-ticket campaign on Gandhi Jayanti to announce some of these measures for a cashless economy. Campaign will run till Republic Day.Surabhi Agarwal&Rajat Arora | ET Bureau | September 01, 2017, 09:40 IST

One of the proposals being discussed includes integration of BHIM and UPI with all online payment options of government departments and PSUs.The Centre is exploring ways to make it mandatory for all government departments and agencies — including services such as railways and road transport corporations — to accept digital payments at points of consumer interface, according to senior government officials.

Also on the drawing board are plans for greater integration of the online payment gateways of these state-owned agencies with official payment modes such as BHIM and Bharat QR code, the officials cited above told ET. The government is also considering incentives for citizens opting for digital payments.

According to a senior official, the government may launch a big-ticket campaign on Gandhi Jayanti to announce some of these measures to achieve its goal of a cashless economy. The campaign will run till Republic Day (January 26).

“Government payments account for a huge percentage of overall transactions, and if these can be done digitally, electronic payments will see massive growth,” said the official.

Last week, at an internal review meeting of the ministry of electronics and IT, which has been given the mandate of promoting digital payments, union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked officials to roll out the campaign from October 2.

The details of the proposals are being discussed by the inter-ministerial committee on digital payments.

“We have decided to equip all our ticket counters to accept digital payments. Under the new guidelines, Bharat QR code will be put up at all 14 lakh reservation counters across the country. We are targetting to make half the transactions at ticket counters digitally enabled,” a top Railway Board official told ET.

“The same will be done for freight bookings too. Already, 90% of payments for freight are cashfree,” he added.

Indian Railways sells passenger tickets worth Rs 52,000 crore every year and 60% of these are through the online booking portal. The rest are sold at reservation counters, mostly in cash.

“One of the ideas is how to make Bharat QR code a universally accepted payment infrastructure,” said another official. The person added, however, that a lot of background work may be required as Bharat QR code still doesn’t accept payments from people without a debit or credit card.

“Digital is still not the primary mode of payment. Lots of ideas are being discussed on how to reduce dependence on cash, but they are still to be finalised,” said the official.

One of the proposals being discussed includes integration of BHIM and UPI with all online payment options of government departments and public sector undertakings (PSUs).

All points of government-public interface, such as bus, train and metro ticket counters and passport offices, may be asked to accept payments through Bharat QR code. All utility bills, such as electricity and water, may have to print Bharat QR code as a prominent payment option.

Another proposal includes incentivising state road transport corporations to shift to digital payments and push them to offer discounts, along with a missive to all ministries and PSUs to promote digital payments.

According to a senior roads ministry official, the government is planning to make RFID toll tags mandatory for all cars from October.

“We’ll also equip all toll lanes to accept digital payments. The focus is to have electronic toll collection, but we’ll also be displaying Bharat QR code for people who want to pay through BHIM app,” said the official.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which currently sees a majority of its card recharges and token sales through cash, is also focusing on digital payments.

“We have enabled all recharges to be made online or through cards. Consumers can even do it through banking apps. Cash handling is difficult, so it’s better to be as cash-free as possible,” the DMRC spokesperson said.